Love Letters
by DannyPhanto fan
Summary: When Ben is away for V-day will Julie be left all alone om the holiday specifically for couples?
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: Okay. V-Day '09 was coming up when I wrote this. I just felt Benlie needed some love. Gwenvin has six separate pages of stories as does *shudders * *whispers* Benvin. [Author tries to find her happy place to banish the unwanted and unneeded mental images {becomes nice and calm}] *Regular voice* and Benlie stories are an endangered species so this popped into my head. Damn happy pills…**

**Disclaimer: [Author has a bunch of government files from US Copyrights Office] Let's see here *Opens folder labeled Cartoon Network* "**_**Aqua**__**Teen Hunger Force**_**…**_**Batman**_**…here it is! Oh, damn, '**_**Ben 10**_** and **_**Ben 10: Alien Force**_**, and all related characters and concepts are property of MAN OF ACTION. Copyright infringement is punishable by fines and/or jail time… *Sighs* At least I own the plot. Oh God damn it, I stole that from **_**P.S. I Love You.**_** Well I can definitely say the ending is an original idea of mine, I own the concept of Altieria though it was influenced by a PC RPG game I play. I used various quotes from various sources and also I have hidden references to the **_**Elder Scroll III: Morrowind**_** game so try to find them. List them in your review. *Gets angry* YOU BETTER REVIEW!*Smiles sweetly and innocently.* Have fun. Ta! " **

**Summary: Valentine's Day is here but Ben isn't in town for it. Will Julie be all alone on the one day set aside for couples or will he surprise her? **

**Ch 1**

17 year oldJulie Yamamoto was your average high-school senior. Her grades were great, so great in fact that she could slack off for the rest of the year and still graduate with honors. She was the state tennis champion four years in a row. She had three great friends, including her boyfriend of two years, plus tons of acquaintances throughout the city. Yes she was an average young adult except for one minor detail; she was dating an intergalactic hero who saved the world on a weekly, if not daily, basis with the help of his, also alien empowered, cousin and her, also alien empowered, boyfriend who had escaped from an alien prison dimension.

But Julie took this all in stride. Not phased by it at all. Besides that alien watch like gadget, called the Omnitrix, which was melded to his wrist, Ben Tennyson, 17, was a normal human. The Omnitrix gave him his ability to shape-shift into various different aliens and instead of using his powers for personal gain he risked his life for the greater good. And she couldn't fault him for that even if every other date ended with them chasing down an alien criminal. Or if he's on a cross-country manhunt, with his cousin and her boyfriend, on Valentine's Day. His personality made up for this one flaw. He was funny, caring, not over protective of her, not easily made jealous etc etc. All in all, except for that one little flaw, but she didn't resent the flaw, he was the perfect significant other for her.

So February 14**th** came and she knew that he would make it up to her when he could. If he missed an important date because of Plumber business he always made it up to her. Romantic dinners, jewelry and clothes from the farthest reaches of the universe, delicacies from the farthest reaches of the universes, even simple cuddling on his return.

She woke up on February 14**th** surprised to find a rose and a note on her bedside table with a dove who was calmly watching her. Blearily rubbing the sleep from her eyes she reached for the note and found very familiar handwriting;

"**Surprise! I have a plan! Because I had a sneaking suspicion that I'd miss V-day I have a system in place. Notes and gifts will be coming to you from various sources. So keep sharp, wear that traffic cone orange sweater I gave you last year (I knew it'd come in handy) and have a good day.**

**Love, **

**Ben.**

**PS. The dove's yours. Just set it free and it'll come back each day by sundown.**"

She grinned and sniffed the rose; yes Ben was an odd fellow, but that's what attracted her to him in the first place.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch 2**

Julie arrived at the school and opened her locker just like every day before, intent on retrieving her books when a cloud of confetti exploded in her face and a claw held out an envelope and package. She, after getting over the shock of having confetti explode in her face, opened the letter;

"**You're one tough cookie. So after you open your gift, you'll have to take a lookie where the school's cookies are made to get your next gift.**"

Grimacing at his terrible rhyming she picked up the package and carefully undid it. It was a long thin box, she opened it and grasped, the necklace was breathtaking; a thick gold chain, like a manacle chain thick, it supported a heavy ruby which was flanked, on each side by a rainbow of stones that got progressively smaller before finally culminating in a tiny colorless gem. It came with a note;

"**Okay, this isn't the next note; it's an explanation. You gotta thank Kevin for this one and the matching earrings and the matching bracelet you'll get later today. Yes it is GOLD; it may be an expensive metal on earth but not anywhere else. The gems on the other hand are mega rare. They come from an extinct alien race of humanoid creatures made of living crystals. Kevin, through his (illegal) contacts, managed to hunt these rocks down for me and you.**"

She smiled as she carefully placed the necklace in its' intended place. It drew whispers as she walked down the hallway, carrying her successfully-retrieved-from-under-a-small-Everest-of-confetti books under her arm.

Her peers stared and gossiped about the necklace and who may've given it to her. It was well known that Ben didn't have the type of money that the necklace would cost in the Earth's market. She only smiled to the questions and was on her way. She went to the cafeteria and the head lunch lady, a Russian woman named only Greta, immediately handed her a thick envelope. She thanked her before she scurried to her first class, sat down and opened the envelope. A coupon book fell out with a letter.

"**Let's admit it, I owe you a lot. You save my butt in school, you play medic while I'm in town, you lie to everyone you know to keep MY secret and you stay with me even though I'm gone half the time. So I printed this coupon book for when I get back, it's for you to use on me. Free lunch, cuddle-time, you know stuff like that. So start planning…**

**I'm so screwed aren't I?**

**Ben.**"

"Yes you are." She giggled as she flipped through the coupon book. Coupons included "1 night of chick flicks, no griping" "1 alien free day {not guaranteed}" "I give Ship a bath" and other such things. She grinned happily as she cracked open her history book.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ch 3**

Science was not her favorite subject, how could it be when she had spent the summer months of her sophomore and junior years on Anodine learning true science? Earth's science was infantile in comparison.

Yes, she spent the summers of her sophomore and junior years on Anodine with Ben. He was there learning the intricacies of alien politics. She was treated as a Plumber's wife and given her choice of daily activities, she chose tutoring from top scientists. They looked down on her at first but when she showed aptitude beyond anything they had ever seen from a human they began treating her with much more respect.

But in her junior year summer it all changed; they arrived on Anodine and were greeted by an ambassador who informed them that they had to be legally wed for her to be allowed to remain.

They were given one night to decide and, after much debate, agreed to go through with it. They decided that on Earth they would still be just dating and they wouldn't tell anyone, except Gwen, Kevin, and the newly returned Max, of the new state of their relationship. They also didn't consummate the marriage.

But her tutoring then continued, now expanding to include martial arts and mystic schooling. It was found that somewhere in her ancestry was an Anodine ancestor or two and although her power was not as strong as Gwen's or pure Anodites' she did have power nonetheless.

But anyway those six months, total, spent on Adonine showed her how limited human knowledge really was. She lazily passed her science classes with A's because of this knowledge of real science.

There was a knock at the door and a Jokeresque clown came in, "Is there a Ms. Yamamoto in this room?"

"Here I am." she spoke up.

"Package for you! From you paramour, a Mr. Tennyson." The clown held out a package and envelope.

"Thank you."

The clown left and she opened the envelope to find a note;

"**Why so serious? Turn your frown upside down for this gift will make you smile. Love,**

**Ben**"

Looking to the teacher for permission, and getting it, she opened the package to find two tickets, with backstage passes, to a circus that always appeared in town during spring break.

She grinned, he knew her well. She believed you were never too old to go to the circus. And to deliver it in the middle of science class by an evil looking clown? Totally Ben.

---

Lunchtime was quiet for her, a rare occasion. No aliens attacking the town!

Until the more popular clique showed up.

Although she was the state champion and, by school age thought, had a right to be one of them she found the inanities of them and their interests quite maddening and had point blank told them this. Michelle, Brandy, and Janice did not appreciate this view of their world, they felt that she should be _**begging**_ to be apart of their group!

But Julie had never been that shallow and taking part in bringing down an alien invasion reinforced her moral fiber.

So as the triad of idiocy advanced upon her location she shot them an unconcerned glance before settling back into monitoring the area. It was an unspoken pact made between them. When the trio of official Plumbers was out of the area it fell upon her to keep any aliens in the area in line. Her laptop could connect to any security system she needed to, into the traffic cameras, and into the local news helicopter, it also had a program that sensed inhuman energies via crystals the group had buried all over the town and alerted her to it, plus it brought her car to her location for the quickest response time possible. But I digress; the triad of idiocy was coming so she had to shut her laptop lest the loosest lips in the town saw anything,

"Hey Julie," Michelle oozed in her sugary sweet simper that made Julie want to rip out her vocal cords to save the world from ever hearing it again for it made the passé nails-on-a-chalkboard seem _**pleasant**_.

"Hello Michelle," she rolled her eyes discreetly, maybe if she showed her disinterest they would leave.

"Where's Ben?" her tormentor asked.

"Business trip," she replied smoothly; it was true enough.

"Oh. For what?" Brandy asked. Her voice was not as grating as the first.

"Family business, plumbing." That was true enough as well.

"They're plumbers!?" Janice laughed, "Girl, you're slipping."

"Just 'cause I like him for him and not his money? No, that's being real. But you girls wouldn't understand. I don't wanna fight right now so please leave me alone."

"You know Julie," Brandy spoke in a tone that was supposed to be threatening but she [Julie] found it laughable at best, "you don't want to make us mad. We know people in very high places. So why don't you just apologize and see if we're willing to forgive and forget?"

"You don't scare me and, though I find this little game of intimidation very childish, I'll have you know I know _**very**_ high people too."

"You're bluffing, you liar."

An eyebrow piqued, "Try to call it then, trust me I've beaten guys that make your big scary jailbird brother look like a cute fluffy little kitten."

She packed her stuff, standing up, "Now if you three'll excuse me, there's a pressing matter I've to attend to."

"What, a clogged septic tank?" Michelle laughed maliciously.

"Yep." She headed towards the parking lot.

"You can't go off campus without a pass!" Janice called.

"Got it!" she yelled back, flashing a Plumbers' badge. The principle was a retired Plumber and had given her group the go ahead to leave campus whenever needed. Kevin had gotten the badge for her to show other, official, Plumbers that she had the tech she had because she worked with, but not for, the Plumbers.

There was a burst of alien energy at the junction of 12**th** and Alfred Ave. It was a park, frequented by grade-age children during the day and the dregs of society, both human and inhuman, at night. She locked the autopilot onto the quickest route before spinning her seat to face the seemingly empty back of her nondescript van. A keypad appeared in her armrest and she pressed in a code. The floor of the van slid back, a table appearing and coming up. It was loaded with various weapons. When Ben first started to let her help he pounded the unignorable truth into her head, "To them you're a bug; something that they can crush beneath their foot. If you don't know what you're dealing with, go in with everything you have. Remember you can laugh about it later if you go in in overkill mode, you can't if you're dead." She had taken it to heart. This was not a game of tennis; you lose, you die.

So she strapped on as much as she could carry, though now that she was more comfortable with the weapons she did not require as much. She strapped on the Altmerian hand cannon as her main weapon and the Bosmerian energy pistols as back up. The shielding amulet that Gwen had created for her was a must; it threw up a barrier, for 60 minutes, which could withstand anything less than nuclear power.

The van lurched to a stop, the door opening itself. She stepped out only to see a very familiar old woman.

"Verdona?!" she called, surprised, to Ben and Gwen's eccentric Anodite grandmother.

"Yes dearie, would you mind putting those toys away? So uncivilized to talk with those things in sight…"

"Uh, sure thing, give me a sec here."

She stowed the weapons and joined the older being.

"So let me guess," she said, "you're here to give me a note and/or package from Ben?"

"That's what I like about you," Verdona spoke pulling the aforementioned items from inside her cloak, "Always straight to the point, most of your kind beat about the brush. He's very lucky to have found a girl like you."

"Thank you Verdona."

"You humans are so weird, call me Grandma." Her eyes narrowed, "What're you waiting for? Open the gift!"

"Okay, okay! It says;

'**Aloha Julie!**

**This package is brochures from various paradises around the world and beyond. I am going to take you on a real vacation. No Plumber duties at all. Just you, me and wherever you pick to go. I will leave my badge with Gwen; so pick a place and start packing.**' Oh wow, he doesn't have to do this…"

"He feels guilty," Verdona explained, "Max was the same, all the time. The Plumbers took him away so much that he'd overcompensate when he was home."

"But he can't afford all this!"

Verdona laughed, "Yes he can! Plumbing is a very dangerous job and his is the worst, so he gets paid very well."

"How well? Cause he should be putting this money towards his college fund instead of pampering me!"

Verdona scratched the side of her head, "What was that comic-book character? Civilian side of Batman? About as rich as he was…or at least he will be in about half-a-dozen years."

"But Bruce Wayne's richer than the real-world's Bill Gates! I'm no good with finances on that scale!"

"Oh Ben will handle everything."

Julie snorted, "Please! I'm sorry to say he can hardly figure out what X is if 4 multiplied by 122 equals X. He has problems with basic algebra including interest."

"Math never really was his father's best subject."

"You have that glint in your eye."

"What glint?"

"That glint Gwen gets when she seen a flash of the future, spill it."

"Can't. Could change it."

Julie frowned, "Is it a good thing?"

"Oh yes, very good, very good."

Distantly the school bell tolled.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch 4**

PE was in full swing when the next gift made its appearance. She was practicing her martial arts in an empty part of the field when the courier came up. It was an alien, disguised as a human. "Mrs. Tennyson?" he asked hesitantly. She looked around before replying as she came out of her current stance, "Yeah?"

"Delivery, from the Mister." He smiled.

"Thank you…" she squinted at the nametag he wore, "David. You didn't hurt a human to get the uniform, right?"

"Oh no, no. I am Mr. Levin's assistant, my homeworld self destructed; me and my parents are the only survivors of my people. He has helped my family immensely and has taken me under his wing for I want to be a Plumber and he wants a semi-normal human life. This body is just a hologram." He looked to his watch, "One that will time out soon so I must be getting back to base. Good day, Ma'am."

"See ya later David."

He left her.

She opened the note.

"**Hello Beautiful.**

**I often hear women expounding on the need of a little black dress so I have gotten you one. Made from the finest silk in the universe, the silk gathered from the Suthray-raht spider of Delta twenty-nine of the Sagittarius constellation. It only produces the silk once every one hundred years, it is hand gathered by only the purest virgins of the Tiger people, then soaked in mineral water before being combed through with emerald combs then it is sown into clothes only for the royal clan. It's so damn expensive because a single spider only makes centimeters worth of the silk. This one garment is made of the silk of six million specimens. No one's sure how the stuff will react with Earth's atmosphere. Enjoy!**"

The box was labeled 'Handle with Care; Delicate merchandise.'

She knelt, setting the box on the ground before her before slowly untying the off white string and opening the generic cardboard flaps. It was encased in some sort of styro-foam stuff and then wrapped in a soft sort of velvet like pelt. She unwrapped it carefully, gasping as the material flowed through her fingers. It felt like cool fluid as it seemingly shimmered in the speckled sunlight that got through the leaves of the tree she sat under. It was a classic evening gown design, with a silt running down the left side that started at her hip. The sleeves were three quarter length. The dress itself would hug her curves in all the right places. The final bell rang, signaling that the generation of desensitized punks and hoodlums were to be let loose upon a city that was buckling down for them. Wrapping the dress up and packing it away she headed for the changing room and then her car.

She found a flyer under the driver's side windshield-wiper;

"**GO TO GRANDPA MAX**"

Shaking her head, she removed it before heading to the RV Park.

Grandpa Max welcomed her with a bear-hug, as always. He had been gardening but dropped what he was doing to grab a pitcher of lemonade and invite her to sit down and talk.

"So, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well, first of all Ben has directed me to you for the next note and/or package…"

He produced a note and a package, "Here ya go."

"Thanks," she opened the note, "It says;

**Dearest One,**

**Here are the earrings and bracelet to go with your necklace.**"

She opened the box and there was the aforementioned jewelry. She sighed.

"Is there a problem?" Max asked concerned.

"Tell me how to set your grandson straight," she paused to collect her thoughts and word them properly, "He's overcompensating; the wooings are nice occasionally, but come-on; in one day he has sprung on me a rose and a pet dove, a necklace made of some mega rare crystals, the matching earrings and necklace, a dress made from the silk of six million alien spiders, a vacation to wherever I want and tickets and backstage passes to the circus. He doesn't have to do this."

Max began laughing, "You sound identical to Verdona! Oh my god!" he calmed down, "Tell him what you just told me…but I have a second package from Ben…"

He uncovered a large box, which had been cloaked. It came with a letter;

"**One thing I love about you is that you're always willing to help, but putting you in the middle of a battle has always scared me. So I have gotten you a long range weapon, a longbow and 50 different kinds of trick arrows; like what Green Arrow uses. Experiment with them, tell me what you like and we'll get you some more. So now you can help and you'll be safer than you were in the middle of the fight.**"

There were electric arrows, arrows that threw out netting to capture the target, arrows that shorted powers for a few seconds on impact, arrows that left trackers on the target and many, many more.

"Okay, he's gonna drive me insane!"

"Look," Max spoke apologetically, "I have one last thing for you."

It was another envelope. She opened it to find a MapQuest map, a key and a note;

"**Julie.**

**This one's important to follow the instructions to the letter. At five pm, no sooner no later, you need to be pulling up to 7689 Albert Ave. This key will let you into the house. In the second story Master suite you'll find an antique writing desk. There will be a key and a jewelry box on it. The key will unlock the box. You'll find a note from me. The house's owners won't be in for another week and I'm sure they won't mind us using it.**

**Ben.**"

An eyebrow rose in interest, this sounded slightly illegal.

----

Five PM

She pulled up and put the van into parking mode against the curb. The house looked brand new and vacant. Nothing screamed that someone actually lived there. She went to the door, took a deep breath, and let herself in. The inside did show that someone with very good taste in home décor lived there. There was a 108" flat screen plasma TV, right now it showed a calm sea loop. The couch could seat six and at one end someone could recline. It was cream colored. The floors were wooden, but in the living room area they had placed a scarlet rug with unusual orange patterns. The bookcases, there were two, one on each side of the TV, held not novels but a fantastic collection of Blue-ray movies. There was a blue-ray player tucked under the TV.

But she didn't notice these details as she followed the instructions. The house had four bedrooms, two baths, two dens and a commercial grade kitchen, plus garage and an underground cave system.

She found the Master suite and opened the box to find a deed and the letter;

"**Dear Julie,**

**Like the house? Well, this'll surprise you. The owners I mentioned. They're us. It's all paid off, mortgage and everything all paid.**

**Enjoy.**

**Ben.**

**PS. Be at the park at 8.**"

Her eyes widened and she stumbled back, into the four poster bed. It was mahogany wood made, lacquered to a deep chocolate brown almost black shade and the bedding and velvety curtains were deep emerald. Its' height, from floor to mattress, was a little over four feet. The bedding was silky smooth and oh so snuggly warm.

But she didn't note these details as she was scrutinizing the deed looking for some clue as to if this were a very peculiar joke. Ben's, sense of humor was very abnormal. No doubt made that way by his very atypical hobby-turned-vocation. Finally admitting it was a legitimate government document (or else a very, very, _**very**_ convincing forgery) she smiled. She knew what he was up to with this. He wanted her to be taken care of should he be called away for long-term "business trips". To not worry about rental bills. A map fell from the letter's folded part.

The house had its own separate generators, built by Cooper no doubt, so electric bills were a thing of the past. Water too, they had found an underground river in the cave system.

"Overprotective worrier." She continued to wander throughout the house, now taking in the details. The kitchen was stocked and there on the refrigerator was door was a note that revealed that groceries would automatically be delivered every three weeks. China, with green halos on white pottery, filled the cabinets above the dishwasher. Non-perishable foods filled another third of the possible cabinet space, leaving the rest open for future wares.

The study-why the hell would they need a study?-was the basic nondescript variety. Except the clock, something was off about the clock.

Duh, comic book tricks 101! She shook her head and stepped up to it, turning the hands to represent the 10 o'clock hour. It slid to the side revealing a cave entrance, a note pinned to the side with a much smaller map.

"**Julie, if you've found this then you've found my new state-of-the art Plumbers' lair. Beneath your very feet is a system of caves which, borrowing from the comic-books, I've turned into an underground lair/ emergency fallout shelter. You can advance no further until I give you the necessary codes without risking the booby-traps and intruder deterrents.**

**Sorry. Love,**

**Ben**"

"Paranoid, overprotective worrier." she amended her earlier statement. She left the clock to slide back into place, and glancing at a real working clock found it to be 7:45 pm. In less than five minutes she was in her new dress, earrings, and necklace and headed towards the park.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch 5**

The portal ripped time and space jaggedly, with a bight pink light. Arguing, panicking, voices were heard as he stepped out. He was wearing robes of black and emerald; Altierian council robes.

"You're late." she spoke coolly. 8:45 pm.

"I know, I know," he said apologetically, "Got called for emergency peace treaty negotiations. They just beamed me here, have to head back soon, this is just a recess."

"Where're the other two?"

He grinned, "Probably barely out of Nevada. Made a rest stop in Vegas. We caught the Vilgax clone four days ago in Oregon. They dared each other into marriage and once it was officiated they began panicking, probably still are. I got called out in the middle of the panic."

"So, what's so important that you had to break negotiation?"

"This."

He dropped to one knee, pulling out a ring that matched the jewelry given to her earlier that day.

Her eyes bulged out in shock,

"Will you marry me? On Earth?"

She dropped to her knees in front of him, her features awash in shock.

"Why?"

"Why am I asking, well—"

"No! Why now, we're only seventeen—"

He sighed, closing his eyes for a minute before opening them. The hand with the ring slumped. "I dunno, maybe it's 'cause of all we seen. Most people our ages are still so naïve, know what I mean?"

She nodded.

"But we, we have seen reality. Everyday we face death and it scares the crap out of me ya know? Every day we rerealize that mankind could be decimated at any given moment and ninety-nine percent of our kind doesn't know! They're blissfully unaware, we don't have that luxury; I was stupid to even tell you about this _**hobby**_ of mine, even if you walk away now you'll still know that we humans are unevolved amoebas compared to the rest of the universe's races. And it terrifies me, we could be wiped out any moment and—There are so many things I want to tell you, show you, experience with you and just so little time to do it all."

He bowed his head, unwilling to show his terror.  
"Ben," she spoke quietly, "Ben, look at me."

Her hands picked up his head gently, forcing him to look her in the eyes, "You aren't going to lose me; I'll be 95 before I ever even _**contemplate**_ dying on you—"

He pulled his head from her grasp, looking to her knees.

"What is it?" she asked softly, worriedly, "You're hiding something; I'd like to know something I should know. You aren't sick or anything, really _**sick**_ I mean."

"No, no," his head snapped up and he gave humorless laugh, it trembled then broke. He became silent, before saying, "this cursed watch wouldn't let me."

"What'd'ya mean? It's made you immune?"

"Near immortal. Unless I get slew I won't die for centuries."

"What about if you get it off?"

"No, it won't come off again; it's fused with my body. Even if it did by some miracle it's warped my DNA too much. I'd still live for at least a couple centuries."

She gave a shaky exhale; it floated in the chilly night air. "It's okay, maybe there's a way to extend my lifespan to where the most you'd outlive me by would be a decade…if not we'll take every day we get and cherish it , okay? And children, you'll be able to watch your descendants grow and grow. This is a blessing in disguise—"

He curled his fingers into a fist and punched the packed dirt path they were on, he withdrew to show her a rock that probably weighed close to a pound and was seven inches wide and long. He crushed it without breaking a sweat.

"My powers are starting to show in human form." he whispered, "If physical manifestations occur I'll have to leave this world."

"How likely is that?"

"My citadel is being built as we speak; we've trapped an asteroid in Earth's gravitational field. There is a positive side effect to this."

"What?"

"The aging problem can be solved. Because my powers are showing up we can bind our souls together. You'll share my lifespan, if I get killed before normal human dying age, you'll live a normal remarkably healthy human lifespan, if you hit the age of 150+ and I die then you'll die a couple days later. If we become bonded we'll feel each other's emotions and pain, we'll develop the ability to communicate telepathically even if one of us is light-years away. Only…"

"Only what?"

"There's an age cut off, the binding has to take place before the age of 20 in human years. You won't age normally after that. You'll gain a year for every twenty-five human years, just like me."

"But that means sooner or later you'll have to reveal your secret."

"Sooner or later yeah."

"But our generation—"

He nodded, "We'll outlive everyone we know."

"What about Gwen and Kevin."

"Their souls are naturally bound, this is just one lifetime out of countless that they've found each other; he'll live as long as she will. She's half Anodite remember? She'll, and by extension he'll, live for centuries. They're soul-mates, so are we but our souls aren't bonded."

"Why?"

A small smile appeared. "The Sentient Ones were afraid that knowing you would distract me from my duty…"

"Sentient Ones?"

"They are the group that controls the universe itself; they know everything about everything and everyone alive or in existence. To the humans they are collectively known as GOD. We weren't supposed to ever meet, Julie, there was a .00000000001 chance out of a zillion that we would. But we did, we met and I still do my job. So they've finally relented and said that they could fix their error. But they can't do it after we turn twenty."

She smiled softly, "Then my answer's yes."

The portal ripped open again and he gave a smile, "Twenty four hours from now be ready to hop a portal."

----

Altieria, home planet of the Altierians, was much like Earth though the sky was greener. The Altierians organized themselves in large clans of relatives, controlled by a Wise Woman or Wise Man (the eldest member of the clan). Clans rarely fought but there had been a feud brewing between the Plains Clans and the Lava Plains Clans. It was over a piece of territory that was green and had volcanic rock in equal amounts. By the declaration of the last hero to wield the Omnitrix the Plains Clans had the property rights to any and all land on which tall plain grass grew, the Lava Plains Clans held the same rights to any and all land covered in hardened lava from the pits of Mount Baltazar. See the issue? So it was up to Ben to halt a regional war that his predecessor had inadvertently set into motion.

The Altierians were diverse appearance wise; their bodies were often adapted to their homelands. Those that lived in the swamp were reptilian humanoids; those of the plains were catlike, most often cheetah humanoids though a few had lion attributes. The lava fields' inhabitants were goat people, similar to the Greek god Pan.

So the two humans were quite unusual. Julie had arrived early in the Altierian morning, afternoon for Earth. Her parents believed that she was helping Max sort through stuff for a yard sale and would be spending the night.

She was herded off to a ceremonial hut upon arrival, Wise Women gathered about her. Ben was still trapped in the negotiations.

He had sat quietly, while the Wise people bickered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Enough." he spoke softly, calmly but sternly. The bickerers fell silent.

"I've decided that no one will get the disputed land, silent!" he stood up, his robes swishing as he moved, "I've decided this because you people will not agree on anything. I shall take the land for my own Altierian residence. I am taking a bride soon, this very afternoon; your sisters are preparing her as we speak. When I return to this planet she shall be accompanying me and will require a proper residence for our little visits. Lethon?"

An Altierian, with lion features, looked shocked at being addressed directly, "Yes Sama?"

"If you start right this second, how long would it take you to build a two story, three bedroom, two bath manor with a dining room that can seat 50? With a guards' barracks?" Ben asked.

"A fortnight Sama." Lethon replied quickly, "Shall I arrange for it to happen?"

"Yes please."

Lethon hurried out, followed by his people.

Ben turned his eye towards the Lava Clans' section, "Your guards are legendary for their strength, skill and bravery. I wish to take two from each clan. They'll be quartered on site. Is this objectable?"

"No Sama." They chorused as one.

"Good."

----

The Sentient One stepped out of the teleporter; her skin was an unearthly tan, her steel-gray hair was in a tight bun. Her eyes were rainbow, the angle of the light changing the color of them. In the orange light of Altieria's sun, they were red. Her weathered face wore an indifferent appearance.

She and her kind had caused a great wrong and she was here to right it. The Plumber bowed accordingly although she didn't deserve it.

The ceremony was to be held outside, in a field of Lunarflowers and Stoneflowers. A podium was set up, floral arches bowing over it.

Pews, hundreds of them, were being set up for the audience's seating. The binding of souls was a once in a millennia occurrence and even as the ceremony was being prepared dignitaries were arriving to witness it.

-----

She surveyed the assembly with a bored eye as she stood at the podium. "Welcome one," she spoke, her voice echoing in and around the clearing, "welcome all. We are gathered here today to right a great wrong, to bring balance to imbalance. In the beginning we were nothing, tiny atoms of nothingness. Then the cosmos formed, breathing us to life. But we were alone, so alone. We procreated like savage beasts then were alone again until the cosmos gifted us with _**love**_, and soulmates. But we still had to _**find**_ our other halves. We are here today to join these two superior beings in mind, heart, and soul. Please join your right hands…"

Ben and Julie did as instructed and a swamp Altierian brought forth a golden chest and opened it, revealing three bejeweled cords of Petro-Sapien crystal.

"These cords represent the intangible, invisible chords that connect you both already, we are here to strengthen, reinforce and imbue them with power."

One of the cords began to levitate, "The first represents the physical form; do you vow your bodies to one another and to never intentionally harm one another?"

"We do." they said in unison. The cord floated over and snaked about their joined forearms, pulsating with light and the beat of their hearts.

The second began to levitate from the box, "The second stands for the mind; do you vow to never harbor emotions or information by hiding them from your spouse?"

"We do." The second cord joined the first bringing a brighter light and a quicker pulse.

The third stood up.

"The third is the most powerful, the soul. There are no vows to be said for no mortal vows can bind the soul."

She began chanting in an unknown tongue, and power began swirling in a whirlwind about the couple as the third glowed red hot and joined its brothers, melting into their skin with the others. It wasn't painful; it was relieving, soothing, almost as if a missing part had been found and added. Rings materialized on the approved fingers.

"You are now of one soul, one mind, and one heart. May this union bring the troubled spirits of our forebearers peace for a great injustice has been brought to justice and balanced restored.

Amen."

"Amen." Both repeated.

"Amen." The audience chorused.

"You may now, as you humans say, kiss the bride."

"Cool," Ben whispered before grabbing Julie and pulling her into a tango bow as they passionately locked lips for 120 seconds.

"How are we going to explain this to my parents?" she asked breathlessly as they parted.

"We'll worry about that later." He replied.

"Who are you and what have you done with Ben?" she teased.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ch 6**

One Week Later

She fidgeted in her chair, the poppy-seed bagel that she nibbled on twitching with her nervous muscle spasms. He stumbled into the kitchen, hair wild, but dressed. There was a new scar forming on his left cheek, a souvenir from last night's patrol. He blearily made an espresso.

"Ready for the day?" she asked with a squeaky voice.

He chuckled, "Nervous?"

"They didn't take well to the idea of us just living together."

"They're old fashioned."

"They're traditional and Dad's heart isn't very good. I'm worried that this just might kill them."

"Relax, I've done this before, it'll be fine."

"You better hope so."

----

Dinner was uncomfortable, there was scratching noise at the door. Ben and Julie looked to each other.

"Ship." Julie spoke.

"Yeah, should I let him in?"

"Might be the easiest way to broach the subject."

"Mm hm." Ben got up and left to the back door.

"Who's Ship?" Mrs. Yamamoto asked.

"Pet." Julie replied.

"I understood that, I mean; cat, dog, giant rodent…?"

"None of the above."

"Huh?"

She was about to explain when the green blob that was Ship came bouncing in. Her mother screamed as Mr. Yamamoto shouted, "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

"An alien." His daughter spoke calmly as Ben sat back down asking. "Pass the pepper please?"

"An _**alien**_?" her mother asked faintly.

"Yep, you know like 'ET phone home'?" Julie scooted her chair back and bent to pick Ship up.

"Don't touch it!"

"Dad, its fine. He's perfectly harmless. Aren't you Ship?" she scratched under his head, he purred, "You see Ben here is part of the Plumbers, they're like the Men In Black. Of course I didn't know this on our first date until we had to save Ship's owner. He left Ship with us. Ship comes and goes at will. Got a trick for me Ship?"

He beeped and jumped from her lap to transform into a rocking chair that held a mother and child. He held the form for a few moments before turning back to his blobby form and taking up her lap again, before curling up and turning off.

Julie looked to Ben, he stared back.

"Ahem," she said turning her attention back to her stunned parents, "Anyway. Ben has a watch that allows him to change into 15—"

"20. Unlocked five more on Altieria."

"20 then, different aliens. Ben?"

He gave a demonstration, looping through his aliens.

"He's perfectly safe, he didn't force me into this marriage, I help him with his work, he gets paid very well…"

"WAIT! _**MARRIAGE**_?! YOU TWO _**ELOPED**_?!"

"Uh huh, on the alien planet of Altieria (I was teleported there when I told you I was with Max) our souls, minds, and hearts, literally. There is no undoing of the binding. And all the legal paperwork is here on Earth already."

"I already bought this house, groceries are to be delivered every three weeks, there are two generators underground to provide electricity and an underground stream is tapped as the water supply." Ben, now human again, filled them in, "So even if I am gone, on a 'business trip' she'll be taken care of. I will pay for her college expenses and any other higher learning she wishes. As a Plumber's wife she is entitled to almost royal status on any planet in the Milky Way. She will be taught by the finest scholars in the galaxy if she wishes."

"Already spent two summers learning true science on Anodine."

"Anodine?"

"My grandmother's homeworld," Ben explained smoothly, "Grandpa Max's a Plumber, he met Grandma Verdona and well the rest is history. Anodites are energy beings, their powers go down the female Tennyson bloodline…"

"So if you two have a daughter, she'll have these powers?" Mrs. Yamamoto asked.

"Most probably, yes."

They withheld the information that the Yamamotos had an Anodite or two in their own tree.

Ben's cell rang, the emergency ringtone, he frowned saying, "'Cuse me, gotta take this." He left the table again. He returned moments later with a stoic face and voice, he sat down, "We've got a situation."

"How bad?" she replied, momentarily forgetting that they had been having dinner with her parents.

"Retired Plumber and his wife were murdered. Their murderers were after their daughter. Kevin and Gwen caught them but the girl has nowhere to go…"

"And they want us to adopt her? She has alien powers I take it."

"Yes many. She's a shape shifter. She can utilize the abilities of any form she takes."

"How old?"

"Nine months."

"Where is she now?"

"Plumber Child Protective Services has her until they find her a Plumber home."

"Okay. Call them back ask for a week to set up though."

He nodded and left yet again.

She looked back to her parents.

"How do you feel about super-powered grandchildren?"

They stared blankly at her.

THE END.


End file.
